Lewis Hamilton Wins Crash-Filled 2017 Singapore F1 Grand Prix, Extends Lead

Lewis Hamilton took full advantage of a disastrous Ferrari performance and claimed victory at a truncated Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix on Sunday to extend his championship lead to 28 points over Sebastian Vettel.

A three-way crash off the start line in the wet between pole-sitter Vettel, his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull's Max Verstappen saw all three out of the race in the opening lap.

After a fine start from fifth in his Mercedes, Hamilton took the lead ahead of Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo—who finished second—and drove a superb race to claim an unexpected victory on a weekend he was tipped to lose ground to Vettel.

He dictated the pace during almost all of the 58 laps and was barely troubled despite numerous safety cars—only 12 drivers finished—that resulted in a shortened race, per Formula 1:

Per BBC Sport's Andrew Benson, Englishman Hamilton had said ahead of the race he needed a "miracle" to limit the damage to his hopes of winning back the world title. 

Here is the top 10 from the Marina Bay Street Circuit, per Formula 1:

Havoc prevailed when the lights went out to get Singapore's race under way.

Vettel tried to cut off a fast-starting Verstappen to hold his lead into the first corner but seemed not to notice Raikkonen sliding up the inside from fourth on the grid, per Channel 4 F1:

As a result, the two Ferraris sandwiched the Red Bull, putting Raikkonen and Verstappen out of the race immediately and Vettel barely half a lap later. 

Hamilton escaped unscathed—unlike Fernando Alonso who was forced to retire after 10 laps having been caught up in the mayhem. 

He led as the race proper began again on the fifth lap following a spell under the safety car and was barely troubled again.

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Ricciardo had to make the first move when it came to pitting in the hope he could leapfrog Hamilton after a couple of laps on fresher tyres.

But it was not to be as the 32-year-old three-time world champion comfortably returned to the track at the head of the group after his only pit-stop midway through the race.

Ferrari were supposed to dominate in Singapore, but it ended up being a fantastic result for Mercedes as Hamilton's team-mate, Valtteri Bottas, completed the podium in third place.